Celebrating Our Members
December 2020
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A warm welcome to our newest members!* We encourage you to connect with them soon and see where your next partnership can be!
*Joined 11/1/2020 - 12/3/2020
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Welcome to DeRocco's 'Wiches, Bagels & Brew |
The Chamber welcomes new member DeRocco’s 'Wiches, Bagels & Brew, located at 157 Quinn Street in Naugatuck!
A family-owned and operated business, DeRocco's boasts a friendly staff and a variety of fresh bagel selections, along with low-carb and healthy options for breakfast and lunch. Everything is homemade...and made with love. Open seven days a week from 7:00 am - 2:00 pm, the venue specializes in bagel sandwiches that are unique and delicious.
Visit DeRocco’s Wiches, Bagels & Brews on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WichesBagelsandBrew, or call them at (203) 720-0055.
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Events From Your Fellow Members |
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Police Activities League of Waterbury Toy Drive (Til December 19th) |
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The Police Activity League of Waterbury Inc. (PAL) is a local 501 c (3) not for profit organization with the motto "Today's Youth, Tomorrow's Leaders". The mission at PAL is to provide programming that promotes partnerships between local youth and police officers. While PAL may be best known for sports and activities for youth in the Greater Waterbury area there are a number of events and services that PAL provides for the entire Waterbury Community. Two of these events, PAL Thanksgiving and the Annual PAL Holiday Party, happen within a month of each other making this a very busy time of year for the PAL team. To make these events a success PAL depends on the generosity of the Greater Waterbury Community to help.
Waterbury PAL serves the community a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. In a non COVID year this would mean one thousand people coming to PAL for a meal. The COVID version of PAL Thanksgiving was a drive though event with 1000 meals packaged in “To Go” containers and reusable shopping bags being picked up in the PAL parking lot.
For the upcoming Holiday season, PAL will have the Annual PAL Holiday Party that provides children with a toy and a holiday treat to celebrate the season. Last year 750 toys were distributed at an indoor holiday event. This year the Holiday Event will take place but it will be a COVID format to serve the community in a safe way. This year we expect the need for toys to be greater than 750. In order to do this PAL is beginning toy drives in November this year. Please consider stopping by at one of the PAL Toy Drive locations to provide a new unwrapped toy for a local Waterbury child. PAL appreciates the support of the Waterbury community to make this event a success. Details for PAL Toy collections are:
1. December 5th and 6th from 10am to 2pm at the TARGET in Waterbury
2. December 12th from 10am to 2pm at the BARNES & NOBLE in Waterbury
Please consider visiting one of these locations to support the Annual PAL Holiday Party effort. If you are unable to attend one of the Toy Drives and would like to make arrangements to drop off a Toy at PAL, you can come to the PAL Office at 64 Division St, in Waterbury, Monday – Friday from 9am to 4pm. Donations can also be made online to support PAL at www.waterburypal.org/contribution.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and support!
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7th Annual Festival of Lights is a GO…Virtually! (December 9&10)
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Wellmore's Festival of Lights has been the event of the season for the past 6 years and while this year may be unique, the team at Wellmore isn't about to let COVID keep them down. Have no fear, we’ve gone virtual this year! Mark your calendar and join in on December 9 & 10!
Wellmore invites you to celebrate all that's glitter and gold, in a safe and socially distant manner, as they raise money for an important cause!
Mental Health is truly its own Pandemic, The Census Bureau recently reported that 1/3 of Americans are feeling severe or worsening anxiety. In April texts to a Federal emergency mental health line were up 1,000% from the same time the previous year. Considering COVID-19 is occurring in the midst of an opioid epidemic and suicide rates have been on the rise for the past two decades the right time to donate is NOW!
You can support by becoming a sponsor, donating a unique and beautifully decorated artificial tree or wreath that will be raffled or auctioned off, or sharing and inviting your friends and family to participate/donate to the event.
For live updates, event registration, purchase raffle tickets, and to participate in our auction visit our Virtual Headquarters at:
RSVP to our Facebook Event & Share the event to your profile to help spread the word:
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Webinar: Get Your Local Business on Google Search and Maps (December 9) |
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Webinar: Wednesday, December 9th from 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Showing up when customers are searching online is more important than ever. And as more customers shop online this holiday season, make sure your business is properly prepared. Help them find accurate and up-to-date information about your local business on Google Search and Google Maps, no matter which device they use. In this workshop, you will learn how to create and manage a Google business profile from start to finish.
In this session we’ll show you how to:
• Create or claim your Business Profile on Google
• Manage your business info across Google Search and Maps
• Use Google My Business to connect with potential customers
Presenter: Sixcia Devine, Social Entrepreneur and
Grow with Google Presenter
Moderated by Matthew Nemeth, Business Advisor, CTSBDC
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Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury Book Fair (December 18-18) |
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Spirit of Franciscan Christmas Fair (November 21-December 20)
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This year, because of the pandemic, the Franciscan Christmas Fair, benefitting the Franciscan Life Center and Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care will be online. We invite you to join us for The Spirit of the Franciscan Christmas Fair November 21 - December 20, 2020. We will be recapturing the spirit of our Living Crèche from past years, selling fair items online including Christmas trees, wreaths, centerpieces, pottery, handmade miniature reindeer, handmade candles, Merry Miscellaneous items, Holy Land pieces and more. There is a Basket Raffle and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be live from the North Pole. Please join us in supporting The Spirit of the Franciscan Christmas Fair by visiting franciscanchristmasfair.org.
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Looking to advertise your company's news? The Chamber is happy to get updates out to members about your latest news. Click the button below and fill out the form to see your information featured in next month's newsletter! |
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Looking to hire? The Chamber is happy to share your opening with members. Click the button below and fill out the form to see your information featured in next month's newsletter! |
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Mathnasium Seeks Part-Time Math Instructor |
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Available position for a part time math instructor for students age 7 and up.
Required Qualifications:
• Exceptional math skills through Algebra I and Geometry
• Excellent communication and multi-tasking skills
• Ability to professionally interact with students and parents
• Energetic and confident personality
Preferred Qualifications:
• Ability to teach students in upper level high school math courses
• Previous teaching experience or other experience working with students
Afternoon/evening hours
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Main Street Waterbury Offers the Best Holiday Gift for Him |
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The Brass City Brew & Que Tour Book is a moving brew fest of 25 Connecticut-based brewers located throughout the Hartford, New Haven, Fairfield and Litchfield counties.
With the 15th Annual Brass City Brew & Que, originally scheduled for this past September in Waterbury, cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Main Street Waterbury’s Brew Crew planning committee set out to partner with some favorites like Counter Weight, Black Hog, Problem Solved, Continuum Distilling, 5 Churches, New England Brewing and others, to bring the beer enthusiasts to our local brewers by introducing the Brass City Brew & Que Tour Book!
Each book contains a crafted voucher from each participating location redeemable towards merchandise, beer & more. A combined value of over $100. Plus, beer-aficionados can create a memorable keepsake capturing their personal tasting notes from each location. The Brass City Brew & Que Tour Book sells for $45 (includes free shipping). Click here to purchase.
So, while we couldn’t bring a brew fest to Waterbury this year, we hope that this tour book brings all beer enthusiasts tons of good cheer starting this holiday season and leading up to the Annual Brass City Brew & Que now scheduled for June of 2021 at Library Park – Waterbury, CT.
We all look forward to being together soon. Until then, we welcome you to take a tour by purchasing a Brass City Brew & Que Tour Book for yourself or as a holiday gift for that special beer lover in your life! All orders must be received by December 17th, to ensure delivery by December 23rd. Stay Safe & Be Well!
We thank you for supporting Main Street Waterbury.
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Durants Winter Event Tent and Equipment Rentals Can Make Your Holidays Merry, Bright and Safe! |
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Durants Party Rentals has the winter event solutions for businesses and private event needs. These offers apply to their three party stores located in Cheshire and Danbury, CT and in Wappingers Falls, NY. Visit https://www.durantsparty.com/ or email John Regina at john@durantsparty.com for more information!
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SBDC Seeks Business Feedback on COVID-19 Impact |
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The Connecticut Small Business Development Center is conducting a survey of small businesses to determine the impact of COVID-19 and related operational issues on their businesses.
To add your voice and experiences, we hope you will share your perspective on business conditions and operations both over the past year, and looking out the next few months. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
The survey feedback will inform the state’s policy makers and will help our partner CTSBDC provide businesses with the assistance you need in the coming year.
Please know that your information will be kept confidential and only be used in aggregate to report on the health of Connecticut small businesses and their needs.
Thank you for providing your input and real-time information on business conditions today.
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Golden Technology Services Offers Cybersecurity Training Trial |
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With the surge in Coronavirus cases in the State, more shopping will be done on line this Holiday season than ever before. Be on the lookout for phishing emails and texts especially Brand phishing. Phishing is when someone attempts to get your sensitive or confidential information like usernames, passwords and credit card information by appearing to be a trusted source.. Additionally, they convince you to share your personal data in spoofed websites.
Educate yourself via WorkWise which is on line education of nine modules including: Infosec 101, Passwords, Connectivity, Devices, Social Engineering, Malicious Attacks and Incident Reporting to reduce your risk while on line.
Test Drive the WorkWise module at no charge, Social Engineering for one week.
Sophos, the cybersecurity solutions corporation advises people with home WIFI to check five things now:
- Apply those updates – set all your devices to automatically install updates where possible.
- Check your encryption settings – they recommend using at least WPA2-PSK (AES) encryption.
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Pick a proper password – an obvious password makes it easy for people you haven’t invited onto your network to connect up as well.
- Check who’s on your network – many routers have an option usually accessed by your browser which shows which devices have connected recently.
- Review your IoT (Internet of Things) devices including webcams, smart speakers and doorbells – only connect devices that you really need to have online. Power down devices when you’re not using them.
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The Parent Leadership Training Institute: Free Classes Enabling Parents to Become Child Advocates |
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It’s amazing what one parent can do! Naugatuck’s Parent Leadership Training Institute Team in partnership with CT Partnership for Children Inc. is pleased to announce Naugatuck’s 5th Class of Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) where in-depth leadership training will be offered to 20-25 selected participants. Naugatuck PLTI is looking for parents, grandparents, guardians or other adults wishing to improve the lives of children, families, and communities to join the 2021 PLTI program beginning this January in a hybrid setting. Participants will become advocates for children through:
• A Saturday community-building retreat
• A 10-week instructional course on community and personal development
• A 10-week civics course on politics, policy and media
• A written community impact project
Candidates will be selected from a pool of diverse applicants. The Institute is free; your
contribution is your time and commitment. The training will be offered in a virtual model (potentially hybrid based upon COVID-19 local health restrictions) in the evenings, with an orientation on January 19th, an in- person /virtual retreat on Saturday, January 23rd from 8:30-4:30pm, and classes continuing on Tuesday evenings for 20 weeks until June. Class is from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, beginning with networking and social time from 5:30-6pm. The training will be offered only in English. For more information and to receive an application contact Jill Mahoney, PLTI Coordinator at (203) 632-7363 or jill.naugatuckparentleadership@gmail.com
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Branagan Communications Consultants LLC Launches Publicity Campaign for Wisdom House "Only Love" Nonviolence Zoom Conference |
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Barbara Branagan-Mitchell, owner of Branagan Communications Consultants, LLC (BCC) for 27 years, a public relations, publicity placement and marketing communications specialty agency, launched a publicity placement campaign for Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in Litchfield “Only Love Can Do That” Zoom conference January 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The program will be in conjunction with the Connecticut Center for Nonviolence (CTCN) in Hartford and is based on the practices and philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King. Branagan Communications Consultants specializes in ‘creating positive awareness’ of a company or organization via press releases, event listings, and public service announcements (P.S.A.) placements with newspaper and broadcast media outlets across Connecticut. BCC offers free phone consultations to help businesses/organizations learn how they can publicize upcoming activities, achievements, recognitions, etc. BCC offers free phone consultations. Visit https://www.branagancommunications.com, call Barbara Branagan-Mitchell at 860-210-0149 or email to barbara@branagancommunications.com.
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Valued Technology Services Offering FREE IT Networking Assessments |
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Here’s the brutal truth: Due to the economic crisis we’ve all suddenly been plunged into thanks to COVID-19, every CEO is under extreme pressure to find ways to cut costs while continuing to operate.
As you know, IT is essential; but in our experience, most CEOs running companies of your size grossly overpay for IT services and support while simultaneously NOT getting the critical data protection and security they need – and think they are getting – due to the simple fact that IT is the “dark arts” for many CEOs, and therefore they are forced to trust that they are being treated fairly (all too often, they’re NOT).
During normal times, overpaying for IT support is a survivable situation; but we are FAR from normal, and every company leader must not only be extremely prudent with overhead and costs, but also HYPER vigilant to protect against a cyber security breach while employees are working remote with home PCs and unprotected networks.
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Connecticut Manufacturing Assistance Center |
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Upgrade your business with the help of CMAC, an industry leading specialist in hand assembly and quality assurance. At CMAC, the quality, care and control are the same as you would want in your own facility. Let us take your hand assembly needs and execute them to your specifications and on your schedule.
Planning your next move?
Look no further! The Connecticut Manufacturing Assistance Center is here for all your hand assembly and quality assurance needs. Centrally located in Waterbury, CT, CMAC’s unique operation can assist by providing a high quality and on time product for you. For more information contact: Zachary Westfahl 920-204-4969 or email Zach.zach.westfahl@gmail.com
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AARP Connecticut Offers Year-Round Discounts |
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AARP Connecticut offers members terrific year-round opportunities to save money and connect them with people and places in their community while supporting local, nonprofit educational and cultural venues.
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall – AARP members can enjoy great discounts on admission and memberships to a variety of Connecticut museums and cultural attractions, local theater, musical performances, educational classes, and more!
New offers are added throughout the year so bookmark www.aarp.org/ctdiscounts and check back often for information about current discounts for AARP members and updates. Special restrictions may apply, so please be sure to read all offer details before purchasing. For information about discounts for AARP members from exclusive merchants and national retailers, click here.
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Palace Theater Affinity Program |
Did you know that as a Chamber member you get special discounts to select shows at the Palace Theater? As an affinity member, you receive a minimum 10% discount off most Palace events with the opportunity to receive even larger discounts on certain performances. When you purchase tickets by phone at 203-346-2000, or in person at the Palace Theater Box Office, mention to your sales and service representative before the point of purchase that you are a Waterbury Regional Chamber Member and would like to take advantage of the Affinity Discount. If you are purchasing tickets online, at www.palacetheaterct.org, use the Promotional Code: WRC. Please keep in mind that some restrictions may apply and discounts may only pertain to certain seating sections based on performance restrictions. For more information on show specific discounts, please contact the Palace Theater Box Office at 203-346-2000.
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RECEIVE OUR TEXT ALERTS!
Text "chamber" to (203) 496-4462 to receive a few updates or reminders from the Chamber. You can respond to any text and we will receive your response!
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